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Soylent Green

Viewed: DVD

Although I had never seen the movie, I’ve heard and read the movie’s shocking last lines many times in various places. The last lines are part of the American culture like “Frankly my dear Scarlet, I don’t give a damn,” and “ET phone home.” Hell, I heard the lines and the name Soylent Green years before I knew it was from a movie.

Soylent Green, the movie, is a 1973 soft sci-fi film about a future overpopulated dystopia. New York, 2022 – population: 40,000,000. Unemployment is over 50%, the police are corrupt, and real food is extremely rare and expensive. People manage to survive any way they can. The main food is Soylent: red, orange, and new green.

Charlton Heston plays a detective investigating the murder of a very wealthy Soylent Foods executive. His investigation leads to learning the truth about Soylent Green.

The science fiction element of this movie is more in the story and concept than any flash or demonstration on the screen. There is one “futuristic” real element in the movie, and it is a video game. You see one of the main characters, played by Leigh Taylor-Young, briefly play a stand-up video game similar to the original arcade Asteroids. It gave me a chuckle to see that as the 1973 idea of a futuristic game.

The story was not compelling or interesting for me. I think this is because I already knew the shocking surprise to come at the end. I felt kind of robbed of potential interest and excitement all during watching the movie because I knew the answer, the punch line.

It’s ironic: knowing the end surprise ruined the possible enjoyment of watching this movie, but knowing the end surprise is the only reason I had an interest in watching this movie. Without that end surprise being a part of American culture, I may never have heard of Soylent Green, and surely would never have rented it to watch.

But knowing the ending of a movie doesn’t always ruin the movie. There are many movies I would and have watched multiple times even though I know the surprise at the end—“No, Luke. I am your father,” “Marion, don’t look at it. Keep your eyes closed.”

Unfortunately, the Soylent Green story and visuals just failed to entertain me. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good enough to be worth watching to learn the set up to the ending catchphrase. If you haven’t ever heard or read the shocking surprise, and want to see this movie, I won’t spoil the end for you. Maybe it’s a better experience seeing it unspoiled.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

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